Fishlabs

Fishlabs GmbH (formerly Fishlabs Entertainment GmbH and Deep Silver Fishlabs) is a German video game developer based in Hamburg. Founded in 2004 by Michael Schade and Christian Lohr, the studio is best known for its Galaxy on Fire series.[2] Following a brief bankruptcy proceeding, Fishlabs was acquired by Koch Media and reorganised as part of their game publishing label Deep Silver.

Fishlabs GmbH
TypeDivision
IndustryVideo games
Founded2004 (2004)
Founders
  • Michael Schade
  • Christian Lohr
Headquarters
Hamburg
,
Germany
ProductsGalaxy on Fire
Number of employees
95[1] (2023)
ParentDeep Silver (2013–present)
Websitedsfishlabs.com

History

Fishlabs was founded in 2004 by Michael Schade and Christian Lohr, incorporated under the name Fishlabs Entertainment GmbH.[3] That same year, the company received a round of financing, which allowed them to pay for development expenses for several years while generating revenue from their releases.[4] The company had also planned a series B round in May 2010, as they announced that would be moving into the massively multiplayer online games market.[5] By mid-2013, Fishlabs had run out of money; in October, 25 jobs were cut before the company went into self-administration.[4] On 2 December, media company Koch Media announced that they had acquired Fishlabs, which would henceforth operate as the dedicated mobile studio for their game publishing label, Deep Silver.[3] As the agreement was an asset deal, all of Fishlab's assets, including 52 employees, were transferred to Koch Media and incorporated in a new division of that company, called Deep Silver Fishlabs.[3][4] The company's former legal entity, Fishlabs Entertainment GmbH, was to be dissolved, and both founders left the company.[3][4] Schade and Lohr founded Rockfish Games in 2014 and developed Everspace.[6] As result of the change in ownership, and the associated financial stability, Fishlabs also moved into video game publishing.[4]

Fishlabs employed 67 people in August 2019,[7] and 80 in January 2020.[8]

List of video games
Year Title Platform(s)
2008 Motoraver 3D J2ME
2009 Galaxy on Fire iOS, Symbian, J2ME, Android, Zeebo
2009 Powerboat Challenge iOS, J2ME, Zeebo
2009 Rally Master Pro iOS, J2ME, Symbian, Zeebo
2009 Deep 3D J2ME,Symbian
2010 Galaxy on Fire 2
2011 Android, Macintosh, iOS, PC
Snowboard Hero iOS, Android
2013 Galaxy on Fire: Alliances
2014 Secret Files: Sam Peters
Secret Files: Tunguska Android, iOS
2015 Galaxy on Fire: Manticore Rising TvOS
Lost Horizon Android, iOS
Secret Files: Sam Peters Android
2016 Galaxy on Fire 3: Manticore iOS
Sacred Legends Android, iOS
The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça & Pizza Boy
2017 Galaxy on Fire 3: Manticore Android
Galaxy on Fire: Alliances
2018 Dead Island: Survivors Android, iOS
Manticore: Galaxy on Fire Nintendo Switch
2019 Saints Row: The Third - The Full Package
2020 Saints Row IV: Re-Elected
2021 Chorus Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
2023 Valheim Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

References
  1. Fröhlich, Petra (16 January 2023). "Die größten Games-Studios in Deutschland 2023 (Update)" [The largest game studios in Germany in 2023 (update)]. GamesWirtschaft (in German). Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  2. Etherington, Darrell (11 February 2013). "Galaxy On Fire Space Sim MMO For iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch Coming In Q3 2013". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  3. Corriea, Alexa Ray (2 December 2013). "Galaxy on Fire developer Fishlabs purchased by Koch Media". Polygon. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  4. Chapple, Craig (14 May 2014). "'It was the hardest time we've ever gone through': How Fishlabs came back from the brink". MCV. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  5. vaughn597 (12 May 2010). "Next10: Fishlabs to move into mobile MMOGs, Series B round planned". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  6. Handrahan, Matthew (31 January 2018). "Rockfish Games: Building success, piece by piece". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  7. Wingefors, Lars (27 August 2019). "THQ Nordic Annual Report 2018/19" (PDF). Cision. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  8. Fröhlich, Petra (10 January 2020). "Die größten Spiele-Entwickler in Deutschland 2020" [The largest game developers in Germany 2020]. GamesWirtschaft (in German). Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
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